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Randy Cassingham's Honorary Unsubscribe Recognizes the Unknown, the Forgotten and the Obscure People who Had an Impact on Our Lives |
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Early in 1998, This is True author Randy Cassingham was distressed to see that not only had actor Jack Lord died, but that his death was virtually ignored in the mainstream media. Wanting to honor him somehow in his online column, Randy came up with the idea of an "honorary unsubscribe" -- symbolically deleting Lord from the This is True online distribution list. (Randy had no way of knowing if Lord actually was a subscriber, since it's virtually impossible to positively identify someone by their e-mail address alone.) Reaction was immediate: True's readers loved the honor, so now someone is honored almost every week in This is True's online mailing. While the This is True stories are compiled into book form each year (details here), the Honorary Unsubscribe notices are not. So, by popular demand, they are compiled on this site.
But there's no point in rehashing what everyone already knows about. Rather than jump on bandwagons recognizing celebrities, the Honorary Unsubscribe is designed to "recognize the Unknown, the Forgotten and the Obscure People who had an impact on our lives." So you will probably recognize few of the names, but you'll come to understand the impact the honorees have had on your life.
Obituaries are pretty much a lost art in America, and most people ignore them. Why? Because few can relate to the usually poorly-written paragraph that tries to sum up a person's life. When Randy writes an "honorary unsubscription" notice, he makes it interesting as few writers can. When he skips a week here and there, readers complain that they miss reading about someone who made a difference in the world. (Randy notes that he cannot always include an honorary unsubscribe because sometimes he doesn't hear about a death that meets the criteria [more on that below], or because he doesn't always have time to research and write it -- the main part of This is True has to come first!)
About the publication date: The date shown is the issue date of the This is True that the "Honorary Unsubscribe" appeared in. Since the HU is written later in the week, it is possible to have a "publication" date that is before the date of death. This is due entirely to the quirks of our publishing schedule and should not be considered evidence of psychic ability.
Suggesting H.U. Honorees: Please don't! Randy has very specific timing requirements, criteria, and sources of information, so it's not helpful for readers to suggest honorees. Thanks much anyway.
The popularity of the "Honorary Unsubscribe" feature in This is True led to a spinoff, HeroicStories, which began publication online on May 1, 1999. If you like the HUs, you'll almost certainly love the HSs. Check them out right here.
You can search for names via the search box to the right, view the most recent entry -- The resistant Germaine Tillion -- or see the complete list of honorees.
About the HUs
About This is TrueFirst: "Hawaii Five-O" actor Jack Lord
Last: The resistant Germaine Tillion